Tubular Bells III is the eighteenth studio album by English guitarist, songwriter, and producer Mike Oldfield. It was released on 31 August 1998 by Warner Music UK as the third instalment in his Tubular Bells album series. After relocating from England to the Spanish island of Ibiza in 1996, Oldfield started work on the album and gained inspiration to incorporate electronic music from the island's local bars and clubs.

Background

By mid-1996, Oldfield had put his Buckinghamshire home for sale and relocated to the Spanish island of Ibiza, setting up a recording studio at Casa Atlantis, a cliffside home in Es Cubells which he designed on a virtual reality simulator on his computer and had it built from scratch. With Ibiza being a major club destination, he became inspired by the electronic and dance music that local DJs were playing and decided to make a dance version of the familiar opening to "Tubular Bells (Part One)", Oldfield liked the results, which persuaded him to make a third Tubular Bells album, following Tubular Bells (1973) and Tubular Bells II (1992). Despite not having a recording contract at the time, Oldfield secured a new deal with Warner Music UK by informing the label that he wished to start work on a third Tubular Bells album.

Oldfield later admitted that Ibiza's hedonistic lifestyle was a negative influence on him and succumbed to alcohol and drugs. In one incident, he was caught driving while twice over the legal alcohol limit and received a one-year driving ban. In April 1998, Oldfield left Ibiza and returned to live at Roughwood Croft, his home in Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire, which he had bought in the late 1980s. He then continued recording Tubular Bells III in London until June 1998. In August, he put his Ibiza home, two cars, and powerboat for sale for £2 million. The home was bought by Noel Gallagher.

Music

Unlike Tubular Bells II, Tubular Bells III does not follow the pattern of the two pieces from the original album, but instead references Tubular Bells musically. For example, "The Source of Secrets" takes up music from the "Introduction" section of the original album,

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Tubular Bells III is the least successful of the three main Tubular Bells albums, only attaining No. 4 on the UK chart, unlike its two chart topping <!-- No. 1 --> predecessors. Critical reaction was mixed. The very distinct similarity of "Man in the Rain" to the hit "Moonlight Shadow" was sometimes interpreted by listeners as Oldfield trying to retread old ground.

Live performance

On 4 September 1998, six years to the day after the premiere of Tubular Bells II at Edinburgh Castle, Oldfield held a premiere concert for Tubular Bells III at Horse Guards Parade in London in front of around 7,000 people. Much of the performance was held during torrential rain. The live version of the complete album from the premiere concert is available on the double DVD Tubular Bells II/Tubular Bells III.

The Live Then & Now 1999 tour was in promotion of this album and his following album, Guitars.

On 27 July 2012 at the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony Mike Oldfield performed renditions of Tubular Bells, "Far Above the Clouds" and "In Dulci Jubilo" during a segment about the NHS. This track was later released on the Isles of Wonder album and as a limited edition blue/pink vinyl single.

Reissues

Tubular Bells III, along with Tubular Bells II and The Songs of Distant Earth, was reissued on 180g vinyl on 27 April 2015. This follows the recent releases of Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, QE2, Five Miles Out and Crises on the same format.

Track listing

All tracks by Mike Oldfield.

  1. "The Source of Secrets" – 5:35
  2. "The Watchful Eye" – 2:09
  3. "Jewel in the Crown" – 5:45
  4. "Outcast" – 3:49
  5. "Serpent Dream" – 2:53
  6. "The Inner Child" – 4:41
  7. "Man in the Rain" – 4:03
  8. "The Top of the Morning" – 4:26
  9. "Moonwatch" – 4:25
  10. "Secrets" – 3:20
  11. "Far Above the Clouds" – 5:30

Charts

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|+ Chart performance for Tubular Bells III

! scope="col"| Chart (1998)

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! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)

| style="text-align:center"| 98

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!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)

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Certifications and sales

Personnel

Music

  • Mike Oldfield – all instruments
  • Amar – vocals on "The Source of Secrets", "Jewels in the Crown", and "Secrets"
  • Rosa Cedrón – vocals on "The Inner Child"
  • Cara Dillon – vocals on "Man in the Rain"
  • Heather Burnett – additional vocals on "Man in the Rain"
  • Clodagh Simonds – vocals on "Far Above the Clouds"
  • Francesca Robertson – child vocals on "Far Above the Clouds"

Production

  • Mike Oldfield – producer, engineer
  • BSS20 – album design
  • Model Solutions – tubular bells construction
  • Silvia Müller – assistant engineer
  • Andy Earl – photography
  • Simon Fowler – portrait photography
  • Rob Dickins – executive producer

References